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Silver Member Username: Rick_bNew york Usa Post Number: 151 Registered: Dec-03 | Hawk, I finally got around to auditioning the Dynaudio 42's and 52's. They are indeed, everything you said they were. Definitely "Maggie" type sound out of a small book. I still have not heard the GMA's, because it's a moot point. While out shopping for a new DVD player, I had a very unusual experience. I posted it under speakers: Audiophile Speaker Epiphany, on 4/19. Did you get a chance to see it? I wanted to share the experience with you, and get your feedback. Stay well! |
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Silver Member Username: HawkHighlands Ranch, CO USA Post Number: 513 Registered: Dec-03 | Yes, Rick, I did. As I posted on another thread where someone asked me what I thought of Ohm speakers, I relayed how I had not seen Ohm speakers in almost 20 years--I thought they had gone away. I am very anxious to hear your review of the Micros (or was it the Micro Talls) that you ordered. I last saw Ohm speakers about 20 years ago. My cousin was a dealer for them (out of his house) when they first started out. As I recall, the last Ohm I heard was the Walsh F, in the basement showroom at Kiefs (in their old building). I loved them, but they were a little too big for me and much too expensive. In looking at the Micros and Micro Talls, it is clear they have solved those problems! I think the Micro line are absoulute stunning, which, if it sounds as good as it looks, will be a killer at their respective prices. I loved the Walsh F. Even though it has been nearly 20 years, they made enough of an impression on me that I remember distictly how clean and clear the sound was. They do have the "Maggie" type sound that I love. I think the product has always been very good, so I have to assume their inability to really make a dent in the market has to be a marketing failure, and not a product failure. Going to an internet sales only model may be just the thing they need to break out. One thing I am interested in, so you will have to let me know when you get them set up, is whether they can be placed close to the back wall. One thing I really liked about Maggies is that they can be placed right up against the back wall and the sound does not become "muddy", as is true with so many conventional cone speakers. If the Ohms do suffer from being up against the wall, it simply means they are no worse than a conventional speaker, but if not, I consider it to be a big plus. Either way, I like to have an idea of the speaker's limitations. Always a pleasure, my friend! |
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Silver Member Username: Rick_bNew york Usa Post Number: 153 Registered: Dec-03 | Thanks Hawk. There is currently a 4 week lead on shipping the Micro Talls, so perhaps direct order is already paying dividends. I hope so. I will post a review after break in, but after what I heard at the salon...... WOW! |
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Unregistered guest | Rick, if you do nothing else regarding your audio system, listen to the Green Mountain Europa's. They are simply that good. Do a google search and you may be able to still find a sounstage review on the older Continuum .5's, the predecessor of the Europa. If you do find the review, as glowing as it is, keep in mind the Europa's are leaps and bounds better in every way. Nothing Dynaudio makes competes with the Europa's. Neither did the big Maggies, the Infinity IRS, Paradigm Studio Ref 100's, Revels, B&W, Accoustat, ADS etc etc. Roy Johnson (GMA's guru) is a very talented and capable designer. He does things like they should be done. Dead cabinets, best drivers that work together, 1st order crossovers, they image like crazy, go pretty dang low (44hz in my room) the speakers are matched to within .25db per stereo pair, they are easy to drive, weigh a ton (45 lbs EA) and make planer guys smile. One other thing: they will play loud. 105 db loud if ya want it. They sound stunning at low volumes. Best I have heard period in this regard. One piece of advice though: Don't listen to them if your not prepared to buy. Nothing else will sound "right" once you hear these speakers. FIND a dealer and listen. You'll thank me later. |
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Silver Member Username: Rick_bNew york Usa Post Number: 187 Registered: Dec-03 | mmm, Thank you again for your insight. Any one as passionate about the GMA's, as I am about the Ohm's, certainly deserve a listen. Given the 120 day home trial period, I will seek out the GMA's, and report back with a evaluation/review. |
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jam Unregistered guest | muimusicman, im planing to setup a 5.1 system and i have already bougth the yamaha rxv1400.does europa a good match with rxv1400? are they good for ht use? can it be place near wall or againts wall? |
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Bronze Member Username: StoneWest CoastUSA Post Number: 32 Registered: Dec-03 | Jam one thing to consider if you are putting together a home theater set-up is GMA does make a matching center channel for the Europa speaker line. I think they are best suited for dedicated 2 channel listening. You could always buy an extra pair and use a single speaker for the center channel. |
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jam Unregistered guest | stone, are they match with my reciever rxv1400? and do you know how much the center speaker cost? can you suggest me for a pair of(match) rear speaker? |
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jam Unregistered guest | guys any suggestions? plan to order europa this week |
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Unregistered guest | The Europa is a very easy speaker to drive because it's an easy load on the amplifier. Thats the beauty of the x-over Roy designed. They can be driven with any amp and sound great. One thing with the Europa's: you have to play them LOUD for several days to break them in. Playing them quiet won't do it. But wow, when they are broken in, they really are quite magical. I'm sure you'll enjoy them. Dealing with Roy Johnson is a pleasure also. |
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Bronze Member Username: StoneWest CoastUSA Post Number: 33 Registered: Dec-03 | Sorry Jam... My post should say GMA does NOT make a Europa center channel. That was a big reason I didn't entertain them for my H/T set up. Didn't want the hassle of trying to find a match. Ohm has one of the best center channels I have ever heard. It's just not very appealing to my eye. Mine is hidden. I love my Ohm H/T set up. Good luck whatever you do. |
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jam Unregistered guest | mauimusicman,stone, if ill go for the europa,can you advice me for the center and rear speaker that would match them(receiver and the europa)?thanks |
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jam Unregistered guest | guys i really need some advise on the europas,can anyone suggest a matching center and rear speaker for europa,any input will be very helpfull,thanks |
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Unregistered guest | Jam.......your on your own there my friend. I'm a 2 ch. stereo guy myself. No surround for these ears. |
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jam Unregistered guest | does asend cbm170 sound like the europa? coz its alot cheaper,but if not,ill go with the europa and research for a matching center and rear speakers |
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Unregistered guest | Lord you guys know your stuff,(glad I stumbled onto this forum!) Maui - either you work for GMA or the Europas are that good! (And at $800/pair?!) I'm stoked to hear about them (looking forward to Rick's review.) Until then, I've quit checking out ADS's... Am considering picking up some JM Reynaud Twins for my girlfriend. They get rave reviews, aren't huge, and seem to be a great, musical little speaker for $550 used. If anyone knows anything about them or have a suggestion for a good receiver to push them, let me know. (Just a 2 channel is fine - she isn't up for HT!) Am considering the NAD C740, the Rotel RX-1050 (more than she needs, but what they hey...), or possibly a semi-vintage Luxman R-115 (I hear they're warm, have sleep timers, and she likes volumes with the little light on the nob). Up until hearing about GMA's, i was considering ADS (810, 1290, 1590), Audes Blues, Spendor 1/2, Tyler Acoustics Taylo's (they're getting cheaper on A-gon), and either a Rotel RX-1050, Luxman R-115, or an NAD for myself. That or just getting a vintage Marantz 2270 and pairing it with some JBL 4312's to appeal to my idiot-rocker nonsensibilities... Would love some input from you guys! Marc |
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Unregistered guest | Marc, don't work for GMA, but I did work with the designer in Colorado for a few years. I can vouch for his knowledge. He builds incredible speakers. They are really simply that good. The JM Twins are nice, but here's a dealers review of the GMA vs Twins: "The Europa wins this short shootout by a mile. Even hardcore stat lovers will like this speaker. Fast, musical and very involving. The two are ying and yang. The Europa needed to be played with to get correct height, 1st. order crossover may have something to do with this. When we switched back to the JMR it sounded slow and heavy sounding." I personally had a pair of ADS L-1290's. No comparison, GMA destroyed them. Search audiogon.com for comparisons of the Europa's to Spendor, Tyler etc. To date, I have heard no monitor that comes close at any price. |
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Unregistered guest | Maui, Thanks for answering that question. The narrowing has become very tiny. Waiting for Rick B's evaluation (I wonder if he has considered the Walsh 100). Truth is, not being an audiophile, just a music lover with a "crappy" system, I can't wait to be floored when I pick something up. (At $880/pair - I don't have to wait 2 years to afford them off Audiogon!) What's your amp you're using? I've been considering the above mentioned, as well as some reasonably priced separates I listed on another thread in Receivers "2 Channel 4 Me". Would welcome your's and anyone's input on that as well. Man - glad I ran into you guys... |
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Unregistered guest | BTW - how is the sweetspot on the Europa's? I sometimes plunk down in my listening spot, but would like something that sounds good while moving around and wouldn't want anything that sounds terrible off axis. |
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Unregistered guest | Marc C, to answer your question about the so called "sweet spot" i'll need to make sure you understand what i'm saying. Generally, 1st order crossover speakers have a somewhat smaller "sweet spot" having to do more with phase than dispersion. The Europa's, because they are a true time/phase aligned speaker have that small "sweet spot". Having said that, they sound great even when listening from three rooms away, standing up, laying on the floor, etc. Why? Because the speakers are phase aligned, meaning the woofer and tweeter both start and stop at the same time, even refractions off walls are in phase, even though they are reflected sounds, if that makes any sense. Best example I can give you about their "sound" is this. I have a live recording of Eva Cassidy. "Live at blues alley" it's called. First night I had this recording I put it in my cd player and cranked it pretty loud. My wife, three rooms away, came out saying "The neighbors are having one hell of a party" I mistakingly thought that was her less than subtle way of getting me to turn down my stereo. I complied. Half a minute later, she emerged from the bathroom looking confused. I'll never forget her words: "You mean THAT was YOUR STEREO? I could have SWORN it was LIVE" Hehehehe. Thats how good they are. Only dowside to them period is they take a long time to really break in, but right out of the box, they destroyed my ADS L-1290's.....not an easy task. To sum up their sound, these speakers sound more like real instruments and real voices than anything I have heard. I'm a musician as well as an audiophile, so I know live music and what instruments should sound like. Don't compare them to speakers in their price range as thats not fair. Compare them to speakers at 2, 3 or 5 times their price. You'll see why they are so highly regarded then. Another really nice thing about these speakers is they simply dont care what you drive them with, as many speakers do. They sound great on big buck amps and they sound great on cheap recievers. Again, search www.audiogon.com Click "discussion forums" on the right side of the page, then in the search bar, type in "europa" I'm not the only one that is enamored with them. |
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Unregistered guest | No, you're not the only one enamored. People are joking about the 90 answer threads Europa's create on Audiogon. No, smoking your 1290 out of the box is no small task. Yet there is no higher praise than the innocent bystander thinking a live band was playing. That really sums it up right there. It is great news that you can drive them with anything. I won't be using anything too lousy, but a super-particular speaker that is so unforgiving that I have to blow some huge amount on an amp or receiver and can't listen to 75% of my rock cd's is NOT what I want. I'm not an audiophile - I'm a music lover with half a clue (doing research - no Circuit City for me). I want a system that makes me want to listen to all my cd's and vinyl - not chuck them. This is something that initially attracted me to Spendors. It was commented often that you could drive them through a Technics and it would sound good. So that is an ultimate plus, because I'm doing my research to try to narrow to a few amps/integrateds, and receivers (Rotel RX-1050, NAD something, new Marantz, vintage Marantz 2270, Hafler DH 220, Jolida 1015rc hybrid, a McCormack, etc. - see "2 Channel 4 Me" in Receiver section), choose the one I like best, and that's it - I'm done. Again, I'm curious to see what Rick B makes of these after his Ohm revelation - but I'm thrilled because any of these is going to absolutely floor me. And I can't wait... (Btw - some guy on Audiogon was talking up his Source Technologies 1.5wv's, saying he had Reynaud Twins and GM Europas and they were both bested. Needless to say, I'm suspicious.) Thanks Maui. p.s. God I'm glad I stumbled onto this forum. |